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Changing perspectives on daylight - Science supplement

Daylight is almost ubiquitous, enabling many diverse life forms to survive and thrive, and affecting us all in a multitude of ways. But do we truly understand its multifaceted nature? A newly released AAAS SCIENCE supplement explores multiple perspectives of current daylight research.

Not only is daylight one of our most precious resources, it is also entirely free of charge. Understanding its potential for addressing major issues in a variety of domains led Velux Stiftung in November 2016 to initiate the "Daylight Academy", a spin-off platform for connection and exchange among the different disciplines and fields of expertise working on daylight.

The SCIENCE supplement "Changing perspectives on daylight: Science, technology and culture" is the Academy's first publication. Managed by its steering committee under the coordination of Prof. Jean-Louis Scartezzini, it highlights the state of the art as well as future research perspectives in a variety of daylighting related topics, including its effects on humans and ecosystems as well as its role in the built environment.

Several EPFL authors have contributed to the publication, in particular to the chapter on daylight in the built environment. Both Prof. Jean-Louis Scartezzini of the Solar Energy and Building Physics Lab and Prof. Maryline Andersen of the Laboratory of Integrated Performance in Design and their teams have long been at the forefront of research in this domain.